Sir Zev, the failed Guardian

You have been a Guardian to three summoners, and failed each one on their pilgrimage to Zanarkand.

The first was a wise old man from Djose, though due to his age he probably shouldn’t have been a summoner. He fell travelling from Kilika to Besaid against a Zu that you were unprepared for. It swooped out of the sky and snatched him up like an eagle would a salmon before anyone had time to react. That defeat shamed you, and you swore the like would never happen again.

The second summoner you were guardian to was someone you had little respect for, but with your own honor at stake stuck with him anyway. He quit his pilgrimage while exploring the cavern of the stolen faith out of fear and you were not terribly disappointed when he did so. Unfortunately, he was roasted alive by a Flame Flan before he could reach Bevelle and renounce his pilgrimage. Though no one blames you, still he technically in your charge when he died, and you once again were shamed by your own inactions.

Vowing to never again abandon someone like that again, your next summoner would come several years later when your best friend would take up the cause. Though the two of you would eventually make it to Zanarkand, a sight which haunts you to this day, he perished there before receiving the final Aeon. You had engaged one of the Machina defenses that still somehow existed in the city when a spirit attacked your summoner from behind.

You carried your friend’s body all the way down Mt. Gagazet through the Calm Lands, finally presenting it to the temple priests in Bevelle. Everyone understood, Zanakand is one of the most dangerous places in the world. Made more so by overconfidence and a lowered guard by most who make it there. Still, the bitter taste of failure and shame was difficult to swallow.